


you shouldn't kiss me

by breadnboo



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Confessions, Family Issues, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Teenagers, also it'll explain the parent situation later on just bare with me, but he's lowkey a baddie, jeonghan has a daycare job, maybe a little ooc?, nerdy seungcheol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23374276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breadnboo/pseuds/breadnboo
Summary: Jeonghan just wants to get by.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone wondering,  
> Jeonghan looks like this: https://twitter.com/jeonghaneruu/status/1243465118479872002?s=19
> 
> and Seungcheol looks like this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/326229566751190377/

☹

His laughter could be heard throughout the store. Jeonghan could listen to his laugh all day, but not right now. He covered his boyfriend's mouth with his hands.

His boyfriend was quick to remove Jeonghan's hands away from his mouth, kissing the palm of one of them. He caressed Jeonghan's cheek, his other hand holding the drawstring bag with bottles of alcohol. "We won't get caught, babe."

Jeonghan leaned into his boyfriend's touch, smiling bashfully.

"I've never stolen before.."

"I'm gonna be out late today, you'll be fine on your own, right?" _It's 9 pm, where are you going?_

"Yea mom. I'm always fine." _I have him to take care of me._

"I'll bring back leftovers for you to eat! Don't stay up too late." _Please, just shut up._

Jeonghan hummed in response, tapping away at his laptop. He could care less where his mom was on her way to, his Amazon wish-list was more important to him right now. 

One last goodbye from his mom and she was out. The apartment room was filled with silence.

Jeonghan stood up from his spot on the couch, shut his laptop and placed it on the couch. He walked to the window and pulled the curtain to the side, just enough to peek outside. He watched as his mom pulled out the driveway, and onto the street. Once her car disappeared, he was quick to grab his phone and spare key from a small tin box where his mom stored meds in. 

He slipped his shoes on and walked out the door.

The convenience store was always lonely at this time at night, minus the solo cashier working night shift. Usually kids flooded the store in the afternoon. The park nearby did not help either.

Though, it was still easy for Jeonghan to steal when no one was around.

He grabbed a pack of strawberry jam crackers and a bottle of alcohol that was more than what two young adults should be drinking. He hid the bottle in the pocket on the right side of his jacket. He was glad that his boyfriend's clothing was overly oversized. 

He walked to the lone cashier and placed the crackers on the counter, avoiding eye contact when he placed a five dollar bill next to the crackers. "I don't need a bag." 

The cashier tilted his head just a bit, he scanned the crackers and set them back down on the counter. He took the bill and held it up to the light, and glanced at Jeonghan. "Y'know, that bottle isn't cheap." He pressed a button on the cash register, the little drawer sliding out, and inserted the cash in, handed Jeonghan his change, and stamped his receipt.

"So, are you gonna pay for that? Or should I call the cops?" 

Jeonghan, totally taken aback, looked up at the cashier with wide eyes. No one's ever threatened to call the cops. 

His shock was abruptly shaken away when the cashier began to laugh, the brown curls of his hair bouncing just a bit. 

"I'm sorry, I figured you don't get asked that a lot. It's fine, you can take the bottle. My dad owns the shop so it's on me." He reached from underneath the counter and pulled out a brown paper bag.

"C'mon, gimme the bottle." He said with a grabby hand. 

Jeonghan reluctantly gave him the bottle and watched the cashier carefully package the bottle.

He held the bottle with boths hands, smiling, and once Jeonghan took hold of the wrapped bottle, he spoke again. "Just be careful. There are people who are working harder than you are and can't enjoy small things like this."

Jeonghan scoffed and stuffed his change into one of his pockets and gave the cashier one last look before he decided that he wasn't a threat.

"Thanks. I'm not a criminal, by the way. Just trying to get by."

The cashier seemed to accept that as an answer and wished Jeonghan a goodnight.

_I couldn't get at least a 'thank you'?_

* * *

" _Babe,_ stop. You're drunk _._ " 

"Wasn't that the point of tonight?" He kissed Jeonghan's jaw.

"No- yes… But we're at a park, for _kids._ " He tilted his neck. _This is wrong, but why can't I stop?_

"So? No one's here." He reached down to unbuckle Jeonghan's belt. 

Jeonghan took hold of his wrist, backing away from him. His boyfriend gave a disapproving look, but leaned in to kiss his lips, and ran his fingers through Jeonghan's black hair. "You look beautiful like this." 

Jeonghan cringed at that. _Not like this. Please._

"What? Are you tired of me? You're the one who asked for this."

"Can't we just go on a walk? Why do we have to do this." Jeonghan stood up and dusted his pants off. Making out with your drunk boyfriend late at night on a wet patch of grass wasn't exactly something that'll satisfy his burning need to be loved.

His boyfriend stood up too, taking the bottle in his hand, and reaching for Jeonghan's with the other.

"Okay. Let's go."

Jeonghan sighed in relief. He knew his boyfriend wouldn't do something he didn't want. 

They walked around the park a bit. Jeonghan enjoyed the silence of the night and the light breeze blowing through his hair. The park wasn't very big, just a slide and 2 swing sets. 

He felt the grip of his boyfriend's hand tightening against his own. _Huh?_

Before he could even question any further, he felt something hard hit his forehead. 

The sound of glass shattering was loud, _too_ loud.

He felt warm liquid on his forehead, going down the side of his face. His heartbeat quickened in pace when he realized what just happened.

He was on the floor, bleeding.

" _Damn you!_ I knew you weren't who you made yourself out to be. You don't know what I'm capable of, Yoon Jeonghan!"

_What? Why suddenly? This can't be happening.._

"W-What are you talking about? Why are you being like this?" He pleaded. He pressed the sleeve of his (boyfriend's) jacket on his forehead. He felt his face heating up from embarrassment? Anger? He couldn't tell.

"Don't start with your ruses, Jeonghan. You can't get tired of me, I'm the one keeping you alive! Unless you'd like to change that-" 

He came closer to Jeonghan, holding the broken glass bottle towards him.

He was about to start running before he heard someone shouting behind him.

"Don't get near him!"

He watched as his boyfriend's face paled. He dropped the bottle and turned around running.

Jeonghan turned around, realizing he had walked all the way back to the little convenience store he was at only a few hours ago. Outside the automatic sliding doors was the curly brown haired cashier. He was in an awkward stance, legs apart and arms straight out holding a…. _gun?_

Jeonghan put both his arms up in the air, not really knowing what to do. His was heart still racing.

The cashier dropped his arms and jogged up to Jeonghan. 

The gun he was holding seemed a lot shiner and thinner up close. The cashier awkwardly laughed and held an offering hand out to Jeonghan. 

He reluctantly took it.

"Don't worry," he said," this isn't a gun." He held up the piece of steel. Seeing it up close, it was a steel square.

"I can't believe he actually fell for it. I've never seen someone run so fast!" He laughed, but immediately stopped when he heard the other choking on sobs.

"H-Hey! Whoa- wait are you alright? You're bleeding!" 

Jeonghan pressed the sleeve back onto his forehead, but retreated his hand and shrugged off the jacket, throwing it straight to the ground. 

He wiped at his eyes, possibly mixing blood and tears together. 

The cashier took hold of Jeonghan's forearms, twisting and searching for any wounds. His eyes met the cut on his forehead. His face scrunched up a bit. It was probably bad.

"Your forehead's pretty bad. I have a first aid kit!" He quickly turned around and ran towards the automatic sliding doors. He must have wanted Jeonghan to follow as enthusiastically because he turned to look at Jeonghan and beckoned him to come with a little flap of his hand. 

Jeonghan walked towards the convenience store.

* * *

"So do you want a _Pororo_ bandaid? Or maybe you'd want a cute one? I have some with flowers, or maybe kittens? Actually- maybe waterproof ones will work better!! Let me go find them." 

Jeonghan watched the cashier shove the bandaids into the front pockets of his green apron. The cashier clumsily disappeared to the back room. The door had a sign that read _Employees Only_. Jeonghan wishes he had a job.

"Okay!" the cashier shouted as he pushed the door open. "I found these," he placed the bandaids on the counter and removed the cotton ball that was attached to Jeonghan's forehead with tape. Jeonghan winced as cold air hit the cut.

He saw the way the cashier kind of panicked, taking the bandaid and unwrapping it. The way his hands quickly moved caused the bandaid to stick to itself. He groaned and tried his best to stick the bandaid on Jeonghan's forehead without getting any of his hair stuck to it.

"There! All done." The cashier placed the discarded wrappers into his apron pocket and made his way around the counter. Jeonghan looked down at his hands. _So much blood._

"Hey," he finally spoke up, "can I wash my hands?" 

The cashier leaned over the counter and saw Jeonghan's bloody hands. His eyes widened and nodded. To Jeonghan's surprise, the cashier pushed the _Employees Only_ door open and motioned for him to come inside.

He honestly didn't know what to expect. Maybe some boxes full of merchandise or carts full of drinks. Or maybe more fridges? But instead, he walked into a small room. There was a couch, a small, square television that he could've sworn only his grandma owned, and a separate room that Jeonghan assumed was the restroom.

"Sorry about the mess," _what mess? "_ you can use that restroom to wash your hands." The cashier pointed at the separate door. Jeonghan nodded and made his way to the restroom.

"So, do you usually get into trouble with boys? That was really intense. I heard the glass shatter and everything!"

Jeonghan breathed out a laugh. "No, that's never happened before. It won't happen again, though. I'm done with him."

The cashier nodded as he wiped down the counter. It was past 11 and he should be heading home soon. He knew his mom wouldn't be home until the early morning, but he couldn't bear with being alone right now. 

"If I had known what would've happened, I wouldn't have let you leave with the bottle." He looked at the cashier, his face was solemn as he finished wiping down the counter. Jeonghan shrugged and picked up a lollipop from the _Take 1 Please_ bowl. 

"Yea well, I wouldn't have tried to steal the bottle if I had known what would've happen." He unwrapped the lollipop and stuck it in his mouth. _Mm, strawberry._ A question popped in his mind.

"Why _did_ you give me the bottle? We don't know each other."

The cashier tossed the dirty rag into a bucket and untied his apron. "We go to the same school. You're still in uniform."

Jeonghan looked down at his shirt. He forgot to change out of the school's vest and button up shirt. His dress pants were also unbelievably dirty.

"Ah, yea. But we still don't know each other."

"No… but I thought 'This guy drinks on a school night? He must be cool." _and_ you were trying to steal. Hardly anyone ever does that! You gave me an eventful night, I hardly get to do any of the procedures that my dad- I mean my _boss_ taught all the employees."

Jeonghan laughed out loud at that. "Your _boss_ told your employees to threaten someone with a steel square?"

The cashier scratched the little hairs at the back of his neck. "Uh, well no. That was just the first thing I grabbed that seemed intimidating." 

Jeonghan hummed and took out the lollipop from his mouth. "Thanks for helping out uh.."

"Seungcheol." The cashier said with a smile.

"Thanks, Seungcheol."

"It's no problem!" The watch on his began to beep. It was time to close up shop.

"Hey, I can give you a ride home if you'd like. It's way too dark to be out on your own anyways." 

Jeonghan gave it some thought, his mom wouldn't care if he was home late, she never did. But he honestly didn't want to be alone right now.

"If it's not too much trouble…"

Seungcheol shook his head and pulled out his keys. "It's not! Let me lock up and we'll be on our way."

The drive to Jeonghan's house was relatively short.

Jeonghan wasn't up for much conversation, but Seungcheol seemed to really want to not drive in silence. They talked about their majors. Jeonghan learned that Seungcheol was a math major, though he didn't know what he'd make out of that. 

"What are you majoring in?" Seungcheol asked at a stop light.

"Child development, though I want to be a teacher, or maybe a daycare worker. I just like kids." 

Seungcheol smiled and started driving again when the light turned green. "That's nice. Kids are cool."

"I guess… I'd like to teach them so they don't end up...like me." 

Seungcheol pouted in question, but before he could ask Jeonghan what he had meant by that, Jeonghan groaned.

"Stop, my place is here." He said, placing a hand on Seungcheol's shoulder. The lights were on and he heard Jeonghan mutter under his breath.

" _Fuck._ Seungcheol, I usually don't ask these kinds of favors, but can I stay over at yours? I think my mom brought someone home and I _really_ don't want to deal with her if she's drunk." _I should've come home sooner._

Jeonghan noticed the way Seungcheol's face reddened and nodded, slightly struggling to turn his car back on.

"Yea, um… don't you want to get your things?"

Jeonghan shook his head, "Nah, I got things at school. Sorry." 

Seungcheol waved a hand at him and began driving to his apartment. "Don't worry, you're probably going through a lot right now."

Jeonghan could almost cry at the sincerity of Seungcheol's words.


	2. Chapter 2

☻ 

Having someone over shouldn’t make him this nervous, he’s had friends over before, but Jeonghan isn’t a friend- well, not yet...maybe. 

Seungcheol pulled into the driveway of his small home. The lights were off and his mom’s car was nowhere to be seen. He turned his key, shutting off the engine, turning off any light that was shining from the headlights. Him and Jeonghan sat in silence. 

“Are your parents home?” Jeonghan asked, sounding as nervous as Seungcheol felt. 

He nodded, “Only my dad, though,” he started collecting his things, “my mom’s still at work.”

They both stepped out of the car, careful not to bump into anything as it was too dark to see clearly. Seungcheol felt a tug on his hand, he didn't mind the contact. He tightened the hold of Jeonghan's hand when he noticed the other was tripping on the brick pathway outside of his porch.

"Sorry, I can't see anything." Jeonghan said in a quiet voice, gripping at Seungcheol's shirt.

Seungcheol shook his head, understanding, though Jeonghan couldn't see him.

Once they safely made it to the door, Seungcheol patted his pocket searching for his keys. He pulled them out, and twisted them into the keyhole, unlocked the door, and quietly stepped into his house. 

He was kind of sad to feel Jeonghan's grip pull away.

Seungcheol kneeled down to untie his shoelaces, and watched how Jeonghan stepped on the backs of his own shoes and kicked them off. 

"My mom's coming home soon, we can wait for her to get back?" He asked, not really knowing what to do in this situation.

Jeonghan shook his head, "If it's okay with you, I'd  _ really  _ just want to go to bed.." he played with his fingers.

Seungcheol was quick to react to that, though really embarrassed.

_ We don't have extra blankets… or pillows…! _

He scratched his nape and pursed his lips, quickly trying to think of what to do.

"Oh- sorry I didn't even- you didn't say to sleep over. Sorry, I can call one of my friends-" 

"No, no, no- it's fine. I just- we don't have extra blankets and stuff…" he suddenly had an idea. "Actually, I can sleep-"

Jeonghan shook his head. "No, you can't sleep here. I'll sleep here!" He pointed at the couch.

Seungcheol stared at Jeonghan and pointed towards the direction of his room. "Ah no, you can sleep in my room, I can sleep somewhere else that isn't the couch."

Jeonghan shook his head. "No, it's your room. I can really call one of my friends," he took out his phone, "just wait a sec-" He let out a soft, defeated sigh as he looked down at his phone. "It's dead."

Seungcheol decided that he was too tired to continue their little argument, he stepped behind Jeonghan and lightly pushed him towards his bedroom. 

Seungcheol tugged his blankets to one side and fluffed his pillow. "Okay, on you go," he said while patting the mattress. Jeonghan stayed frozen where he was standing by the door.

Seungcheol sucked his teeth, slightly annoyed with Jeonghan. "Why are you being stubborn? I know you're tired- just sleep." He pushed Jeonghan by the shoulders down onto the bed and threw the blanket over him, "Now sleep, don't worry about me."

His annoyance quickly washed away when Jeonghan nodded and closed his eyes.

He softly closed the door and made his way to his younger brother's room.

* * *

"Hyung are you drunk?"

Seungcheol stared down at his younger brother. His sleepy, red face and ruffled hair made his heart squeeze. His little brother was  _ so  _ cute, but not at this moment.

"What? No! Please, Vernon. Let me sleep with you." He said in a desperate whisper.

Vernon crossed his arms. "Why, hyung? Are you scared of the dark? At this age?" 

Seungcheol groaned. "Yes! I'm scared! Now let me sleep with you." 

Vernon shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. "Sorry hyung, but I don't wanna sleep with you when you're drunk. Go sleep with dad." 

Seungcheol scurried to grab hold of the door handle before Vernon closed his bedroom door. He groaned when he heard the click of a lock.

_ Damnit! _

* * *

Seungcheol slowly climbed into his bed so he wouldn't disrupt Jeonghan.

_ It's my bed, it shouldn't be weird, right? _

His breath hitched when Jeonghan rolled onto his side and faced Seungcheol. 

He stared at Jeonghan's sleeping face- relaxed and no trace of stress. Even in the dark, Seungcheol could see Jeonghan's pretty eyelashes.

_ Pretty? No! No- _

He froze, silently watching Jeonghan reposition himself in his sleep- one arm under his head, one hand under his cheek. He snuggled closer to the blanket and Seungcheol felt a pang in his chest.

_ Cute…! _

Seungcheol could almost slap himself. He shouldn't be watching someone that he just met while they're sleeping! And call them cute? 

It's his bed so it shouldn't be bad, right?

Wrong.

He stared at the ceiling, shutting his eyes hard enough that he could see spots of light. 

_ C'mon, sleep. Sleep. Sleep-! _

His heartbeat stopped.

He was going to die.

He looked down and stared at the arm that was lightly over his waist. 

His room was usually cold, and even when Vernon decided he wanted to have a sleepover, sharing a bed did not take a toll on his body temperature. But suddenly, everything seemed too warm.

* * *

☹

Jeonghan was in bliss. He felt warm, safe, and if he were being honest- completely free.

He was half awake- the bed was too cozy and he couldn't imagine himself getting up without at least bathing in its warmth.

That was wishful thinking.

"You'll be late to school if you don't wake up-"

His eyes shut tighter as the bedroom light suddenly switched on. That voice was not his mom's.

_ Right. I'm not home. _

"Seungcheol-" 

Footsteps got closer and suddenly the warmth was gone. 

Seungcheol, who Jeonghan now noticed was sleeping soundly beside him, groaned and patted around for the blanket, smacking Jeonghan thigh in the process. Noticing that there was no blanket, he shot up from where he was laying on his stomach. 

"Seungcheol, who's this?" the woman's voice was soft, almost in disbelief, "you didn't mention anything about bringing someone over."

Seungcheol was fully awake now, sitting up in bed. Jeonghan did the same. 

He looked over at Seungcheol, noticing the way he looked like a child who was caught in the act. 

"Don't make that face, you're not in trouble. Get dressed and come downstairs- breakfast is almost ready."

Seungcheol gave a stiff nod and scrambled out of bed as soon as the soft spoken woman closed the door.

"Sorry, that was my mom." He said, standing in front of his closet.

Jeonghan nodded and looked around Seungcheol's room. Now that the sun was shining through the window, he could see how small Seungcheol's room was. It wasn't neat, there were clothes piled on a chair, and heavy textbooks were scattered on his desk. The one thing adorning the bare walls was a small, baby animal themed calendar.

"Do you want to borrow some clothes? You can shower too if you want." 

He turned to look at Seungcheol, he was fully dressed in their school's uniform. He shook his head and stood up.

"No I'm okay, I usually shower at school." 

Seungcheol shrugged, but took out a pair of navy blue dress pants out of the bottom drawer of his closet. "You'll probably need these though. Yours are a bit….torn." He eyed at the tears near Jeonghan's knees.

"Ah, you're right. I really don't want student council to call me out." He took the pants that Seungcheol was offering.

Seungcheol laughed and grabbed his blue tie. "I'll head downstairs so you can get dressed, breakfast should be ready." Jeonghan nodded and began to dress once the door closed behind Seungcheol.

_ What am I doing? What's mom gonna say?  _

_ Probably nothing. _

* * *

☻

"Who was that, Seungcheol? A new friend?" His mother asked once he was in the kitchen. She was spooning rice into a small container. 

Seungcheol contemplated for a bit. He'd just met….. 

_ Wait. _

_ I didn't get this name!!! _

He gripped at his hair and gasped.

His mother stared at him and closed the lid on the container. "Are you alright?"

He nodded absentmindedly and ran back upstairs. He pushed Jeonghan back into his room when he bumped into him as he was going down the steps.

"H-Hey- what are you doing?!"

"Sorry- Sorry. I just realized."

"Realized what?"

"I don't know your name."

Jeonghan blinked at him.

"It's Jeonghan. I can't believe you never asked."

"That's not my fault! People usually reciprocate when a name is given."

"Well I don't." He scoffed and backed away from Seungcheol's grip. 

Seungcheol scratched at his eyebrow and shrugged, not really understanding. "Okay,  _ Jeonghan,  _ breakfast is ready. I hope egg fried rice is okay."

Jeonghan fixed the uniform vest he had decided to take from the pile of clothes stacked on Seungcheol's chair, "Sounds good to me."

They both headed downstairs, Seungcheol's mom had noticed his recovery from the small breakdown he was about to have, and began pouring water into two cups. 

"You shouldn't run up the stairs like that, honey. Now, about what I'd asked about before- new friend of yours?"

Seungcheol looked at Jeonghan, who looked back at him. 

"Uh- yea! We're friends. I actually met him not too long ago."

Once their breakfast was served, Seungcheol watched the way Jeonghan took bites of his food and started conversation with his mother. His hair was a bit mussed, and he hadn't noticed the small bruises that peaked from under the collar of his shirt. 

He must have been staring for a while, he didn't notice the way Jeonghan was staring back at him.

He sputtered when he raised his eyebrow in a questioning matter.

"Can I help you?"

Seungcheol shook his head and looked down at his watch. "Oh, would you look at the time! We should get going! Lemme go brush my teeth!" He stood up from his seat and ran to the restroom. 

Jeonghan followed Seungcheol with his eyes.

* * *

"So, think you'll be okay today?"

"What? Of course I'll be okay."

Seungcheol hummed in thought. "I'd be scared to come to school after all that."

Jeonghan shrugged and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, leaning against the car window.

"I'm not scared of much."

The drive to school was a lot quieter than what Seungcheol had wanted. He hardly  _ knew _ Jeonghan, and now he was suddenly worried about him. 

They weren't friends. He shouldn't get involved in Jeonghan's life. He was simply just helping a fellow student.

That's what he kept telling himself.

"Ah, wait. You can drop me off here. My friends are by that building." Jeonghan pointed towards the big, bulky red building and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Seungcheol watched Jeonghan as he jogged up to a group of guys who he assumed were his friends. Knowing that Jeonghan was safe with others, he drove to the side of campus that he belonged to.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this one's a bit shorter than the last one,, i wanted to get something out asap and i seriously don't know how im gonna do this, so i hope nothing gets too confusing!!!! 
> 
> anywayss thanks for reading <3


	3. Chapter 3

☹

"Who was that, hyung?" Seokmin asked as they walked into the Child Development hall. He was clinging to the straps of his backpack and looking around, as if scoping the area for any danger.

"He's the part-timer who works the nightshift at that one convenience store by the park, and _stop_ doing that, Seokmin. You're making yourself look like a fool." Jeonghan smacked Seokmin's shoulder, earning him a whine from the younger. 

"But hyung! You don't know if _he's_ around." 

Jeonghan had told his two most trusted friends about the whole fiasco. Seokmin had inevitably freaked out and offered to call the cops _and_ even offered to buy Jeonghan any sort of self defense weapon he could find that had one day shipping. Jihoon on the other hand, was a lot calmer, but was already on the search for the most affordable, but effective, taser. 

"He doesn't have classes near this wing, so it's not like he'd be around. Besides, I have you two to protect me, right?" He smiled at his youngest friends and pulled them both to his side. 

Seokmin seemed to feel reassured, he snuggled into Jeonghan's hold. Jihoon seemed unfazed, but he held onto Jeonghan's arm as they walked to the daycare center. Though he quickly pulled away while holding his nose and waving his hand at Jeonghan.

"By the way hyung, you kinda stink-" 

Seokmin laughed and pulled away too, joining Jihoon in his teasing games. "Yea, we just got here!"

Jeonghan pushed at them and gasped. "I can't believe you guys! Do you not know what I went through?"

Seokmin ran up to the entrance of the daycare and pulled the glass door open. "You were out fighting crime and kissing boys!" He grabbed the clipboard from a plastic container and began signing the three of them in. Jihoon wasn't taking any of the classes Jeonghan and Seokmin were taking, he was in the sports hall, but he enjoyed hanging out with the two as they did their morning jobs. 

"We have a couple of kiddos coming in today, you sure you wanna stay Jihoon?" Jeonghan asked his blonde haired friend. 

Jihoon nodded and walked over to the small, red couch next to the check in counter. "I'm starting to enjoy seeing all the kids. Hey- do you think they'll be up to playing baseball today?"

Jeonghan looked at Jihoon in disbelief, "Jihoon _,_ " he sighed, "they're _babies."_

Jihoon shrugged and watched as Jeonghan walked to the employee room. He quickly got out of his seat on the couch and followed Jeonghan. "You know, my dad started me off really early! I could be doing some of these kids a favor."

"Yea, well maybe literal infants shouldn't be around baseball bats," Jeonghan walked to the washrooms and began to strip out of his clothes, "let's stick to playing catch with the little cushions."

Jihoon scoffed and closed the door to the washrooms, leaving Jeonghan alone to wash up. 

He sighed once the warm water sprayed down his back.

* * *

He stared back at his reflection from the circle he created from wiping the fog around it. He looked tired, and the bandaid on his forehead was wrinkled from the water. “At least it was waterproof.” 

He grabbed a towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around his waist. He walked to his locker in the staff lounge, not bothering with toweling his hair dry. He pulled a clean, white shirt off of a clothes hanger and eyed the pants Seungcheol had lent him. 

He called for Jihoon and shut his locker door. 

“Yes, hyung?” Jihoon asked when he entered the room, he had two different juice boxes in his hands. 

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, ready to lecture Jihoon again about leaving the juice boxes for the kids, but instead raised the pair of pants in Jihoon’s view. “Do you have a spare pair of pants? Like these.”

Jihoon scowled and stopped drinking from his straw, “Are you making fun of me?” he asked, his tone lacing with incredulity. “Why would you need _my_ pants anyway? Ask Seokmin.” He was walking back to the playroom when Jeonghan began to run after him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back into the staff lounge. 

“No- wait, Jihoon. I didn’t mean it like that! I would never make fun of you, you’re too cute and precious. You’re gonna make me sad if you keep making that face.” Jihoon stopped scowling at him and started drinking his juice once Jeonghan released his grip on Jihoon’s arm. 

Suddenly Jihoon started sputtering into a coughing fit, his face turning red as he covered his eyes and turned around. 

“J-Jihoon?! What the fu-”

“Jeonghan-hyung, kids are starting to arrive- Why are you naked?” Seokmin paused at the door and stared at Jeonghan, who was indeed naked. He hadn’t noticed when his towel fell when he chased after Jihoon. Seokmin bent over to pick up Jeonghan’s discarded towel and began patting Jihoon’s back. 

“Don’t die Jihoonie! _Hyung_ I know in this day and age things are different, but right now’s not the time to be naked. Try again later~” He singsonged as he closed the door and directed Jihoon back to the playroom filled with noisy children. 

Jeonghan frowned and looked at the towel in his hand.

“But I need pants…”

He had no other choice. Seungcheol’s pants were too big for him, and taking care of children with baggy pants wasn’t a good idea. Nonetheless, he quickly dressed and joined the others.

* * *

“Who wants to take a nap!” 

The five 4 year olds sitting on the race car rug turned to look at Jeonghan, their faces went from smiling to their lips turning into little pouts. 

“But Teacher, the big hand isn’t at six yet.” The oldest of the group, Yerim, pointed at the plastic bunny clock on the check in counter. 

Jeonghan nodded, acknowledging her time telling and gestured to the youngest of the group. “Yes Yerim, you’re right, but look at poor Mingukie. He’s falling asleep.” The three children turned to look at the youngest, who was sitting wide eyed and very much awake. 

“He’s not sleeping! He’s awake!” Yoona shouted, her little pigtails bounced around as she made her way to where Jeonghan was standing. She gripped at his pant leg and tugged it hard enough that Jeonghan had to hold onto the waist band. “Teacher, let’s play!” she began to pull Jeonghan to where she and the rest of her buddies were playing on the carpet. 

Jeonghan acquiesced, if he allowed the little girl to continue pulling on his pants it’d be the end for him. 

So there he sat, two toy cars in each of his hands as he mimicked the sounds of engines roaring. He was growing bored of pretending to drive the toy cars around, but the kids seemed to never become disinterested, so he continued. He loved spending his mornings with the kids, he couldn’t imagine where he would be without them. Their pure, innocent faces made his heart become full of admiration, and jealousy. He could never hate the kids, even when they were loud and difficult when it came to putting them down for their nap. 

Though sometimes, he’d wish that someone would take care of him the way he did to them. 

About an hour into their play, one by one, each child would become drowsy and Jeonghan took two at a time to their sleeping cots. 

Once the five children were all in their cots and Jeonghan made sure each of them was comfortable, he let himself relax on the couch. He was beginning to fall asleep, the room was too quiet. 

He gave in eventually, he laid on his side and nuzzled himself on one of the colorful throw pillows.

Seokmin abruptly burst through the door cradling a crying three month old in his arms. “Hyung! Yujin dropped her bottle and it rolled under the crib!” He stopped rocking baby Yujin and stared at Jeonghan.

“Hyung, I need help..”

Jeonghan stirred and opened his eyes, he was unbelievably tired. 

Seokmin needed his help, so he forced himself to stand.

“Okay, I’ll help.”

Seokmin gave a stiff nod and handed Yujin over to Jeonghan. She immediately nuzzled into his neck and plopped her thumb into her mouth.

The nursery was small and had room for three cribs and a changing station. Seokmin spent most of his time in the nursery, he was the only one who could calm down babies. 

Yujin was a stubborn baby. She refused to sleep without someone holding her hand, and had to drink from a specific bottle. 

Yujin's lips smacked and she turned her little head to rest on Jeonghan's shoulder. Her sleepy baby squeaks made him turn to her, her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep. Bottle long forgotten

_She must be really tired. Same._

Seokmin was on the floor, phone in hand with the flashlight on. His arm was extended under the crip, his back was arched in an uncomfortable position, and Jeonghan had the urge to kick his butt.

Instead, he lightly tapped it with his foot. Seokmin looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Jeonghan cocked his head towards Yujin and mouthed that she was asleep. Seokmin's mouth did an 'o' shape as he struggled to finally reach the bottle, pulling it out from under the crib. There was no use in giving it back to Yujin, it was dirty and the milk had gone cold. 

Seokmin carefully took her from Jeonghan's hold and settled her down in her crib. Today seemed like a lucky day, either she had tired herself from crying, or she was tired of Seokmin's constant whines to get her to sleep. Both of them stood there for a minute watching if she’d wake up. They both deemed it as a success when she snuggled deeper into her blanket. 

Making sure everyone was safe and tucked in, they made their way back to the playroom.

"Are they all asleep now?" The door to the employee room cracked open a bit. Jihoon’s head peeked from the slightly ajar door. Jeonghan nodded and flopped back onto the couch with a sigh. Jihoon smiled and walked to the couch. He was holding one of the school issued iPads.

“Whatcha doing there, Jihoonie?” 

Jihoon flipped the iPad towards Jeonghan, his fingers pinched to make the screen zoom out. Jeonghan can see the array of scribbles that Jihoon had written out, he noticed the scribbles were his attempts at doing his math homework. 

Jeonghan took the iPad from Jihoon and tried to decipher his scribbles. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Jihoon. “I can’t understand what you’re trying to do here…”

Jihoon shrugged and took back the iPad, “Neither do I,” he began to scribble again,”I missed one lecture and I got left behind. I’m _never_ skipping class again.” He grumbled under his breath and sat criss cross on the couch.

Jeonghan hummed and turned to the baby monitor that was always left on the end table. The kids were still sound asleep. He turned to Jihoon.

“Want me to help with your homework?”

* * *

“Hyung that has to be him! There’s no way that isn’t him..”

“Calm down, Seokmin. Let’s just go the other way.” He tried not to let his voice waver, but he was scared. How could he not be scared?

Seokmin took hold of Jeonghan’s arm as they both turned and changed their direction, choosing to take the long way to Jihoon’s class. They were being followed and Jeonghan could tell Seokmin was a lot more scared than he was. 

Seokmin pulled out his phone with trembling hands. “Maybe I should tell Jihoon-hyung that we can’t walk him home today.” Jeonghan shook his head and guided Seokmin to the area in the parking lot where the bike racks were. He quickly pulled out the spare key Jihoon gave him and scanned the different bikes in search of Jihoon’s.

Seokmin was helping Jeonghan pull the bike off of the rack and taking the helmet from the small basket attached to it, when someone suddenly grabbed Jeonghan from his wrist. He heard Seokmin shout out to him, dropping the helmet in the process.

He couldn’t feel anything other than the tingling feeling where the strong grip was holding onto his wrist. His eyes widened when he turned to look at who was holding him. 

It was his ex-boyfriend.

“What the hell! Let go!” In one instant pull, his arm was free. He stepped back and pushed the man with his forearm when he got too close. 

“Jeonghan- let’s talk! C’mon babe, you know that’s how I mess around- it was a joke!”

Jeonghan’s face felt the way his face became hot with rage, he grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and twisted it in his hand. 

“A _joke?!_ Are you kidding me? I am _not_ going to get back with someone who thinks physical assault is a joke. We’re done- I didn’t think I’d have to tell you that.” He was about to turn back to Seokmin and tell him that everything was okay, and that they’d still be able to walk Jihoon home, when he felt a solid strike to his cheek.

_Not this again…_

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted this chapter to be a lot longer, but i wanted to get it out asap....... also animal crossing has been taking up most of my time whoops

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading !
> 
> i have a twitter acc!! please follow: @ breadnboo


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